Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, southwest China - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of U.S. students interacting with robots
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Giovanna Longo, student, Brown University (partially overlaid with shot 3):
"I really like this close experience that we can have, and actually participate and interact and touch robots. This was very, very, very interesting, very cool."
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3. Students touring robot company
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4. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrew Chico, student, Johns Hopkins University (ending with shot 5):
"I think that coming today, I saw how impressive a lot of the different robots are, and I think it's a super exciting time, especially in robotics and AI and technology in general."
5. Chico shaking hands with robot
6. Various of students touring robot company, robot parts on display
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Sebastien Sanandres, student, Swarthmore College (partially overlaid with shot 8):
"I think what's exciting is that some of these robots can replace some of the dangerous jobs that humans do today. We're looking at the fire rescue, the police, search and rescue. So I think that's exciting. And also, they're talking about how in the future maybe you could do some of the household chores and all that. So that's what I was most excited about."
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8. Robots on display
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9. SOUNDBITE (English) Ryan Chao, student, Yale University:
"My grandma, she's in a senior home in the U.S. And she's talking to me, and she said, 'Right now you're taking care of me, but I hope that one day I'll have a robot that can also help me out.'"
10. Various of students on robot company tour
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Sebastien Sanandres, student, Swarthmore College:
"Most people in America have seen the performances. Like, we already know that these robots are pretty advanced, but seeing in person is just different."
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Ryan Chao, student, Yale University:
"Obviously, this is just the beginning. But already what I've seen is really, really amazing, and beyond what I could have imagined before I stepped foot into here."
13. Drew Kunard, summer resident director of CET Beijing, touring robot company with students
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Drew Kunard, summer resident director, CET Beijing (partially overlaid with shot 15):
"I hope that students, our students specifically, can see the importance of several different things. One is how they can use their language in the field that they're interested in. I also hope that they can see how quickly and how amazing the developments that China has going on right now, in not just robotics, but other different types of technology, other different types of fields as well."
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15. Various of students on robot company tour
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16. Various of students on robot company tour

A group of 77 students from Yale, Brown, Johns Hopkins and other top U.S. universities toured a humanoid robotics company in southwest China's Chengdu as part of an academic and cultural exchange program this week.

Seeing China's robotics industry from inside a company, the students interacted with robots and spoke with engineers working on embodied AI.

"I really like this close experience that we can have, and actually participate and interact and touch robots. This was very, very, very interesting, very cool," said Giovanna Longo, a student from Brown University.

"I think that coming today, I saw how impressive a lot of the different robots are, and I think it's a super exciting time, especially in robotics and AI and technology in general," said Andrew Chico, a student from Johns Hopkins University.

At first, many students focus on how the robots move and respond. After demonstrations, their questions shift to where the technology could be used.

"I think what's exciting is that some of these robots can replace some of the dangerous jobs that humans do today. We're looking at the fire rescue, the police, search and rescue. So I think that's exciting. And also, they're talking about how in the future maybe you could do some of the household chores and all that. So that's what I was most excited about," said Sebastien Sanandres, a student from Swarthmore College.

"My grandma, she's in a senior home in the U.S. And she's talking to me, and she said, 'Right now you're taking care of me, but I hope that one day I'll have a robot that can also help me out,'" said Ryan Chao, a student from Yale University.

For many students, seeing the technology in person gives them a different perspective from what they've learned in class or read in news.

"Most people in America have seen the performances. Like, we already know that these robots are pretty advanced, but seeing in person is just different," said Sanandres.

"Obviously, this is just the beginning. But already what I've seen is really, really amazing, and beyond what I could have imagined before I stepped foot into here," said Chao.

For the educators accompanying the group, this direct experience is the point.

"I hope that students, our students specifically, can see the importance of several different things. One is how they can use their language in the field that they're interested in. I also hope that they can see how quickly and how amazing the developments that China has going on right now, in not just robotics, but other different types of technology, other different types of fields as well," said Drew Kunard, summer resident director of the study abroad program CET Beijing.